Fiorentina vs. Napoli: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online

Fiorentina - Napoli may not seem like a grudge match to most, but there’s a chance the hosts will be smarting after last season. The two sides contested the Coppa Italia final, which was overshadowed by a tragic event, the shooting of a Napoli fan by a Roma ultra before the match. Inside Rome’s stadium there was chaos, with the Napoli fans protesting against the game going ahead. The match finally kicked off under a thick haze of smoke and distress, and Napoli ultimately beat Fiorentina 3-1.

Napoli went on to finish third, Fiorentina fourth -- missing out on the Champions League once again. This season, both sides have struggled. The viola have barely managed to find the back of the net, and as a result, are languishing in 10th, and are coming off a 3-1 loss to Sampdoria last weekend. But while Napoli had a difficult start to the season, they’ve revived themselves in recent weeks, and after beating Roma 2-0 in the last round will be flying quite high.

We’ll keep saying it and saying it and it will keep being true. The Slovak has had a bit of a rough time since Rafa Benítez came to town, but he slipped into a groove a few weeks ago. The thing about Hamšík is that Napoli can be good without him, but they can’t be great in his absence. But with him orchestrating the midfield properly, they can conquer. Napoli have made a poor start to the season, but they’re only seven points back. If their playmaker keeps his wits, they can certainly get back into this thing.

Neither coach should get very comfortable on his bench. The viola are having a rougher time of it, particularly after losing at the hands of former manager Siniša Mihajlović last weekend. Montella seems to be getting increasingly desperate, re-jigging his formations and likely sending up burnt offerings in the hopes that Rossi will just recover already. But despite Fiorentina sitting 10th, it’s Benítez that’s more likely to get the boot first. He was meant to be out if he failed to get nine points from his last three Serie A matches, but beating Roma kept him alive. Still,a loss here and the strings could well be cut.

Giuseppe Rossi (injured)

At this point, we’re wondering if the rest of the Fiorentina squad would even recognize Giuseppe Rossi if he showed up for training.

Michu, Camilo Zúñiga (injured)

At some point, it would be nice for Napoli to be able to play Zúñiga on the right, Faouzi Ghoulam on the left and let Christian Maggio take a nice stroll through a meadow, but that point seems far in the future. As for Michu, he won’t be missed.

Sunday, November 9 at 6 p.m. local, 12 noon ET

Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence

TV: RAI International, beIN Sports (USA and Canada); BT Sport 1 (UK); Premium Calcio (Italy)

Online: beIN Sports Connect (USA and Canada); Sky Go Italia (Italy)